A few months after ressurecting neo-soul with his Lauryn Hill-sampling “Cole Summer,” J. Cole has reached even farther back into the R&B of his childhood by calling in TLC for a hook on new single “Crooked Smile.” The song — about slight physical imperfections, including Cole’s — recalls TLC’s FanMail mega single “Unpretty” in both sentiment and its breezy, acoustic guitar-driven sound.
Cole’s new album Born Sinner will be released on June 18. Last month, he released a holdover EP.
